ALLOTMENT holders are up in arms over possible plans at Ealing Council to raise charges for plots.

The council has identified that it needs to find an extra £75,000 to subsidise its allotment service, and gardeners may have to dig deep to cover the costs.

There are currently about 1,500 allotments across the borough. A five-pole plot costs £46.60 per year while a 10-pole plot costs £93.20.

Patrick Williams, spokesman for Ealing Allotment Holders Association said he has written to councillors across the borough urging them to help oppose any decision by the council to raise charges.

He said: “We understand that proposals are currently being drawn up to increase the existing rents by up to 100 per cent.

“Whilst we appreciate that Ealing’s Allotment Service cannot be exempt from the spending cuts resulting from central government policies, we consider that such proposals are unfair and, if implemented, will have a devastating impact on some of the more vulnerable members of our community.

“We also feel that such proposals make little sense both in terms of overall Council expenditure and the future viability of the Allotment service in Ealing.

“Our biggest concern is that this will hit the most vulnerable, like pensioners or the unemployed.”

David Millican, Conservative opposition leader at Ealing Council said: “This is an absolutely huge increase and we think it’s totally unacceptable. Obviously this will have a huge impact on allotment holders in the borough.”

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport and the environment said: “The only increase we’ve announced at the moment is a rise of five per cent from October. It’s council policy to announce this rise a year in advance so allotment holders have known about the five per cent rise since last year.

“We have identified that we may have to find about £75,000 but right now nothing has been decided regarding how to close that gap. What we will do, though, is call in as many allotment holders as we can to share their views so we can work alongside them in finding the best way forward.”

Mr Mahfouz added that officers will be taking another look at £75,000 figure to see if that is still the amount required to subsidise the allotments service. A 50 per cent discount for charges for the elderly will still be applied.